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Casino sees little progress
Published Friday, August 15, 2008
NATCHEZ — The Roth Hill casino is currently still working on its plans, city officials said.
Two months ago, the casino was supposed to have a groundbreaking ceremony in conjunction with the Country Inn and Suite’s grand opening, but did not.
At the time, Natchez Enterprises President Ted Doody said it would have to be delayed due to the spring thaw.
He said the river was anticipated to rise again, and the low-lying base of Roth Hill was feared to be under water once more.
Doody had previously stated that by the middle to end of June, casino officials would be able to gauge what the river was going to do.
Now, approaching September, the casino has not made an announcement on groundbreaking or any immediate plans.
Doody has not returned repeated phone calls recently.
City Engineer David Gardner, who has been working with casino officials from a utilities standpoint, said the company is working out architectural and engineering plans.
“From what I understand, they’re still finishing up their plan drawings looking to do a few changes, nothing major, to the site plan,” Gardner said.
He said the flood made the company think twice about its previously designed plans.
Now, the plans are being modified to where if a similar flood were even to happen, it wouldn’t shut down the casino.
“They want to go back and look at it, tweak it a little bit,” he said.
Most of these changes affect the parking garage they were planning, Gardner said.
Gardner assured this did not mean the project had come to a complete standstill.
“All indications are they’re still working on it,” he said. “They’re just not at a point to ask for permission to start the project or (ask) for approval of the project. They’re still in work mode.”
He said this kind of slow, careful movement is to be expected.
“I know it’s taking longer than they originally said, but, unfortunately, that’s the nature of that type of business,” he said. “You can’t push that type of thing along.”
Comments
Posted by lowrider (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 1:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There all talk, if they are so worried about the river why build there. They're just going to sit around and wait to see what the other two casinos are going to do.
Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 1:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Shoot just line the river up with casinos.....
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 8:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It would have been nice for the city to release this kind of report about Fat Mamas when they were doing a little "tweaking" of their own. FMs got publically screamed at and the boat received a precious announcement. Go figure.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 10:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The Jimmy Buffett Casino on the coast has stopped working overtime and has laid off workers because they have slowed down the construction because of the economy. It is slowing down just like teh rets of teh economy. They do not need to build another casino if the market will not support it.
Maybe they could change their minds and build a huge waterslide and waterpark on that hill instead...lol....just kidding around.
Posted by Fenwick (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 11:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think that I would like to slide down the hill into a water pool at the bottom. That sounds like fun. Me and my friends went to the casino one time sometime back but they told us to leave it because we were drinking two much. We were not hurting anybody and I thought they were rude to do that to me and us.
Posted by aak1972 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 12:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Speaking of water slides I have to take my 2 kids outa town to find something fun for them to do. And we do that twice a month. Again another development to lure in "gamers" which i am not against, but i would love to spend my money on my kids and do it in Natchez.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 12:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
aak,
Several of us on here have asked why Natchez does not try to lure an amusement or water park to Natchez. It would be a nice change of pace from the current choices that Natchez has for young families.
Maybe one of the casinos would like to build a waterpark for teh gamers kids to play in while the gamers gamble???????
But with all the trouble that Fat Mama's had opening a restruant in Natchez, I can only imagine what it would take to get a waterpark opened around Natchez in the hysterical district.
Posted by Bobaloo (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ya'll need to let this water park thing go. it's not feasable, it's not gonna happen.
how many $30-40 a day admissions do you think would actually happen in our sparsely populated and even more financially challenged area?
Be realistic.... if you were a developer in the water park biz, why would you spend a million to lose it on not enough sales?
Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 3:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wonder why they couldn't put a zoo here....
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 4:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
fire, a zoo??? Think about it......lol...
Posted by aak1972 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 5:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
bobaloo, it doesnt have to be a waterpark. But the truth is theres nothing here for my kids to do!!!!!
Posted by GopherBaroque (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 7:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mare's eat oats and and doe's eat oats
but little lambs eat ivy
A kid will eat ivy too
wouldn't you!
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 8:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Heard on the radio, Paul Harvey, that Rome, Italy is going to have a Disney style theme park within 5 years. That's just not right. Rome, The Eternal City - with a theme park.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 11:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Natchez will never lure any solid business here,they work against new business,always have and always will. They want a sleepy ole gone with the wind southern plantation town. They would shush us all away if they could. A select few run this city. Just like CNN said a select few run New York city. It,s no secret or big surprize,so why try to figure it out. Nothing to figure out. They rule,all others yield. If you do the smallest thing they don,t like,they either have a rule you have to follow for it or they make a new rule or get the goverment to put some type of mumbo jumbo historic hoopla in your way. If you plant a mustard seed in the city,it better be correct, Actually their definition of correct,which will be however or whatever they deem correct,because they run the city. That,s a fact. We here more casino having trouble,Rentech sued,everybody is either struggling or fighting with the city. Or if not they are in court over some lawsuit or like the hotels fueding over the money. I just don,t see that much money around Natchez,the greatest changes i have seen in 40 or so odd years is all downhill.
And by golly that same select few,i guess kinda like the chicken selects at Mickey Dee,s is going to see to it,they get theirs and everybody else can just go fish.I don,t see all the fuss, It ain,t gonna get better........too much legalized theft and same bad eggs will always get their way around here.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 11:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Over the past months, the Grand Soleil has been faced with a lawsuit from one of the partners over contractual issues and also have received flak from members of the Indian tribe offering financial backing to the project.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 11:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Right on top of their game,what a mess.....
NATCHEZ — Country Inn and Suites is having a feud with its general contractor.
The contractor, Hotel Development Inc., is not being paid for the work they did for the hotel, which is owned and managed by Broadway Hospitalities.
Both entities want money owed to them by the City of Natchez, money coming from a $2.1 million bond the city took out to help with the hotel’s construction.
Broadway Hospitalities does not want to pay the HDI because of an alleged list of items that were either not fulfilled or done incorrectly during the construction.
These conflicting claims put the city in a tricky situation, and $1.2 million of the $2.1 million bond is owed, but is being contested.
The city is not in a position to decide where the money should go and that’s why on Aug. 4, it filed a suit in the chancery court against Broadway Hospitalities and HDI.
City Clerk Donnie Holloway said what the city did was take the disputed $1.2 million and paid it into the chancery court.
According to Chancery Clerk Tommy O’Beirne, the next step for the money will now be determined by a judge.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 11:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I,m running for Mayor next yair.
Posted by observer (anonymous) on August 16, 2008 at 3:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Looks like the Lane Company has come to its senses!
Posted by sammohon (anonymous) on August 16, 2008 at 10:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
texas...more spouting vitriol and hatred for "they", "them" a "select few"...again no specifics, no names, no evidence of particular misdeeds...you just like to gripe...the "select few" are the people that Natchez has chosen, for good or ill, by voting.
Posted by sammohon (anonymous) on August 16, 2008 at 10:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The controversy over the hotel is relatively easy to understand if you know something of the construction industry. I'm not privy to the actual contractual obligations of the parties involved, but it looks like this: the developer has a construction contract with the contractor...this was done to build the project and simultaneously protect the City (the actual owner) from liability from the project development and also the management of the hotel...the contractor says he's finished...the developer hasn't gotten the money from the City which borrowed money through a bond issue ostensibly to give to the developer to finance the construction...the contractor is in a bind to pay his subs and suppliers...the developer is in a bind because the City hasn't paid them and so they stall claiming substandard or incomplete work, probably withholding far more than the retainage they're entitled to withhold...the City doesn't know what's going on or who to trust...now lawyers will be involved and a judge will decide and none of them will have any special knowledge of the construction industry, but will make a ruling anyway.
Everyone keeping up?...it all could have been avoided if there was someone involved who actually knew what they were doing when the contracts and agreements were made and if that someone had been overseeing the project to make sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to do according the to contract documents.
Even then, if there had been a dispute it could have and should have been resolved through binding arbitration which is the industry norm and much cheaper and not thrown to the courts which will do nothing other than to make everyone except the lawyers unhappy and poorer.
We'll have to eat this one, but why wasn't there a "someone who knew what they were doing" involved? This can be laid squarely on the ineptitude of the Mayor(s) and Aldermen...the others are simply making business decisions in reaction to the City's failure to perform. Natchez, you get what you vote for!
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on August 16, 2008 at 11:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
sammahon i don,t know if your a carbon based life form of the male or female species,but go fish. Quit babbling over my comments, I didn,t go on over your ridicilous 20% crime rate. They have been regular weekly shootings,stabbings,armed robberies in Natchez for the last 60 years or so that i,ve been here.
Find somebody else to rattle on about. i post what i post.
You row your boat and i,ll row mine.Your a real weeniehead
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on August 17, 2008 at 1:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We elect all right and the elected answer to the select few.So it doesn,t matter who we elect. They are told what and how to do whatever they do.
If you don,t know who they are then you don,t have much common sense.
They are the same people who won,t let the man alone trying to open a produce business on the end lot by the north Walgreens store. He said they want certain flowers planted,the fence row cleaned,he put up the new fence the city wanted,paved areas they wanted paved, planted flowers,bought a new building and made his place tidy and neat. He told me yesterday they wouldn,t give him a license to operate even though he had operated for years next to the St. Catherine street bridge,now after he has invested all the time and money they cut off his electricity so he bought a $2,000 generator to keep his produce from spoiling. He said everytime he does what the city ask they come up with something else or more new rules. Now they say he can,t sit in his new building. He has to sit in his truck. Hogwash,>>It,s the same ole tune,pay the ones that won,t work and drive away the ones that try to open a new business and want to work..Only in America...Now he says they want certain trees planted around his chain link fence..Ride by and look sometime. Working against the working people that,s what i see.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on August 17, 2008 at 11:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Don,t sling mud about peoples familys on here. I don,t do it to others and i expect the same from you.Just make sure your family tree is okay and they all have the same last names. Don,t go dragging in peoples family,s that have nothing to do with the comments on here.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on August 17, 2008 at 11:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It would take an honest lawyer or somebody as least equal to Abraham Lincoln to even unravel the mess the city makes in these kind of wild card dealings. They don,t even know sometimes why they do the things they do. They have even said so in the articles. So trying to convince others to make sense of something more complicated than our AT&T phone bill is frugal at best. I know lawyers that read it and shudder,so don,t try to unravel the mess the city gets into or try to convince us they really try hard to do it right. What happens most likely is they have their hands so deep in the pie they get goo all over them,rub it in their eyes and they can,t even read the documents and contracts because for the most part they are focusing on their cut,not the problems. Natchez Under the Hill really just moved to the top even though the old days are long gone.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on August 17, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We,ll have to EAT this one. Oh well that,s usually what comes out of all that yapping you do. We eat too many horsetrading deals the city and county has gotten the taxpayers into,aka the industrail park full of gulleys on Palestine road that was sold and then bought back at a very large expense to the taxpayers. Bought for i believe around a million or so dollars and never used, then resold for a huge loss. It had gulleys that a D-9 caterpillar couldn.t crawl out of. I know I used to deer hunt on the land. They bought a industrial so called park full of giant gulleys....Stepped right on up on that one.
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